Cam cleats of the type typically used in sailboats, consist generally of a pair of spring-biased cam-like jaws having a plurality of teeth mounted on their arcuate surface. The cams are pivotally mounted opposite one another, to a flat base structure. A line to be held by the cleat is inserted between the arcuate surfaces of the cams and pulled in a direction opposite to the axial force on the line. The cams are rotated against the bias of the spring as the line is pulled between them, forming a nip or line receiving space. When the line is released, it is jammed between the cams as the teeth engage the line and secure it against movement in the direction of the axial tension. If required, the frictional hold developed by the cams may be increased by sharpening the teeth along the arcuate surface.
Certain prior art cam cleats intended for use with sailboats and the like are designed to receive and hold a line in one direction only. Once mounted on the gunnel of the sailboat or elsewhere, these existing cam cleats are limited in use to the direction in which they face.
Another problem associated with prior art cleats is that the cam jaws are mounted in a fixed relation to one another on the base. Thus, the nip is dependent on the degree of curvature of the arcuate surfaces of the cams. If the degree of curvature on the arcuate surfaces is relatively acute, the cams may be rotated to accomodate lines from small to larger diameters, but the frictional holding capability of the cleat is sacrificed since fewer jaw teeth engage the line to be clamped than would be provided by a cam jaw having a slight curvature of the arcuate surface. Conversely, if cam jaws having arcuate surfaces with slight curvatures are employed to improve the holding capability of the cleat, the line receiving space between the cam is limited and only a small range of rope diameters may be accomodated.
The use of nylon and other synthetically made materials has permitted the manufacture of high strength lines of such smaller diameter than equivalent strength hemp ropes. As a result, those prior art cleats designed to accomodate the larger diameter hemp rope lines may permit slippage with the use of smaller nylon lines under normal tensile loading. In addition, it is difficult to force larger lines between the cam jaws of conventional cam cleats. This is especially apparent where the clamping operation must be quickly accomplished such as to avoid capsizing or during sailboat racing.